[Your Superpower: Devour from last week — experience concluded.]
[Drawback decrypted.]
[The drawback is: After Devour takes effect, for a certain period of time, senses are shared with a random member of the opposite sex.]
The trigger point of the Superpower: Devour's drawback was exactly the same as the result of his analysis.
After eating, the Devour superpower took effect, going from the initial Shared Taste to shared smell, and then the subsequently appearing shared touch.
And last night,
it could even be said to have been a full, all-around sensory sharing.
But the problem was that the sensory sharing last night had lasted so long — if eating was the trigger point, then surely it shouldn't have sustained for that long!
Or could it be that 'eating a girl' also counts as eating?
Lin Ye arrived at an answer that left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Soon,
the next line of text appeared.
The text manifested.
Lin Ye stared at it wide-eyed, with a little bit of anticipation in his heart —
what new superpower would appear in the new week.
[Your superpower for this week has been updated.]
[Superpower — Hypnosis.]
[But the drawback is ■■■■■]
Holy crap,
Hypnosis,
Hypnosis!
The most commonly appearing superpower for the male leads of the Inner World.
It could be said that in ero-anime, the Hypnosis superpower was one of the most famous superpowers, rivaling Time Stop.
Of course, in terms of actual strength, Hypnosis was weaker than Time Stop.
But as far as ero-anime works went, Hypnosis plus Time Stop could probably claim half the territory between them.
How many ero-anime heroines had been turned into xxx by the male lead using Hypnosis.
And now,
he too possessed this superpower belonging to the absolute protagonist of ero-anime works.
He could also try out the changes that Hypnosis could bring.
But there was one problem, a fairly important one.
What was the drawback of the Hypnosis superpower.
On this point, Lin Ye always had a slightly uneasy, jittery feeling at not being clear about it.
"Let's give it a try,"
"Find a suitable subject and give it a try — maybe I can pin down the drawback,"
Just like the 'Devour superpower,' it was through his several attempts that he'd determined the rough content of the drawback.
This time,
experimenting with Hypnosis was likewise necessary.
A few suitable subjects quickly surfaced in Lin Ye's mind.
The first,
was of course the girl beside him with whom he'd now already had a physical relationship.
And the second was Senpai — the help he'd provided for Senpai, and moreover he'd become lovers with Senpai, formally becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Senpai was also a suitable person to ask.
The third was Yukino Yukinoshita; she too had expressed willingness to help, and was one of the few girls who knew something of his circumstances.
The remaining suitable candidates were Ryou Fujibayashi and Ren Nanase.
In any case, there were still people to test with. It was through testing these few that he could determine the drawback of the 'Hypnosis superpower.'
Lin Ye was quite looking forward to this new superpower.
What sort of content would be good for the Hypnosis!
The first idea that popped into Lin Ye's mind was ero-anime plots.
"No, no,"
"What am I thinking about — I'm a man of upright character."
With the superpowers of the past several ero-anime, he'd never once actively committed the perverted acts of a molester, and naturally this Hypnosis would be the same.
He still very much had his own principles and bottom line, and would absolutely never cross that perverted line.
But testing was still fine,
as long as he obtained the girl's consent.
Lin Ye placed his gaze on the girl beside him.
They'd already had a relationship, and she owed him so many debts of gratitude — having her help him do a little testing wasn't excessive, was it!
Ryou Fujibayashi suddenly felt a chill. She slowly lifted her little head and met Lin Ye's eyes, and that smiling look of his instantly made her shiver.
A bad feeling began to surface in her heart.
This was the first time she'd felt this way facing Lin Ye.
Bad, extremely bad.
Her sixth sense as a woman felt extremely bad.
Ryou Fujibayashi hugged him even tighter, even wrapping her left leg around Lin Ye's body.
In that instant, it brought Lin Ye's mind back to its senses a little.
He'd gotten carried away.
What was he thinking!
Lin Ye shook his head.
"It's already nine o'clock. How about we get up first?"
Ryou Fujibayashi still didn't react much; she just held on, as though wanting to turn all of this present moment into eternity.
"Let me carry you over to the bathroom to wash up! But first I have to check whether Isshiki and your sister have woken up,"
Nine o'clock was a rather awkward time.
The likelihood of them being awake was very high, and the likelihood of him running into Ryou and Isshiki Iroha while carrying the girl out of the room toward the bathroom was very high.
Still, today was Monday, and if Isshiki was awake she ought to be heading to Sobu High for school — it was just a matter of whether she'd discovered the matter between him and Fujibayashi.
If she'd discovered it, then this… going by that girl's temperament, she'd definitely come and stir up some trouble for him.
In that case,
she couldn't blame him.
Let her have a taste of how formidable his current superpower was.
Thinking this, Lin Ye curled up the corners of his mouth.
Ryou Fujibayashi again gently shook her head.
"This — Fujibayashi, you don't want Ryou to know either, do you~! I can accept it; at worst I'd just get a scolding. But you're different. The relationship between you sisters would definitely be affected, so…"
"It's fine,"
At last, the maiden in his arms spoke.
Her voice was a little hoarse.
Upon hearing it, guilt surfaced in Lin Ye.
This was his responsibility; he had to do something.
"This…"
She shook her head. "It's fine."
Ryou Fujibayashi spoke again.
Lin Ye sighed. "Since you say it's fine, then I'll… hm?"
He suddenly reacted.
There was something off about this voice — compared to Kyou Fujibayashi's voice, it sounded more like Ryou Fujibayashi's voice.
A horrifying possibility surfaced, laid out before Lin Ye's eyes.
Lin Ye's heart clenched, his eyes going wide. Swallowing 'gulp, gulp…', he looked at the girl in his arms.
This time, he was no longer stroking the girl's back, but stroking the girl's purple, lovely hair.
The strands were soft and smooth, but in no time at all they cut short.
Short hair,
this was short hair.
Last night his whole being had been in a muddled, scatterbrained state; rational thought simply hadn't existed, so naturally he hadn't noticed the girl's abnormality.
And this morning the girl had kept half of her little head hidden inside the covers, or else nestled against his side, so naturally he hadn't noticed the girl's situation.
No wonder — no wonder the girl had kept barely making a sound, only shaking her head. Aside from her throat being a bit hoarse, the bigger reason was that the girl didn't want to expose her identity!
But as things stood now, the girl was bound to be exposed; it was only a matter of how long it took.
"Ryou."
"Hm?"
Ryou Fujibayashi instinctively lifted her eyes to look up at Lin Ye.
The two of them met each other's gaze.
In this moment Ryou Fujibayashi realized she could no longer keep up the disguise; Lin-kun already knew she was Ryou Fujibayashi.
She lowered her head, pressing her cheek against Lin Ye's chest, listening to the rhythmic heartbeat coming from Lin Ye's chest.
'Thump…'
'Thump thump thump…'
Deep and strong, very healthy.
Facing Lin Ye's silence, Ryou Fujibayashi unexpectedly grew nervous, worried about how Lin Ye would treat her.
At the very least, let them keep their previous relationship!
This was Ryou Fujibayashi's bottom line. Even if Lin Ye still chose Mai Sakurajima, she didn't want this to cause the two of them to become strangers.
Friends — at least still friends!
Lin Ye was now certain of the identity of the girl in his arms.
It was the younger sister, not the elder.
His headache grew bigger.
Having a relationship with the elder sister, Kyou Fujibayashi, he could treat as a simple pact — once it was over, they'd return to their respective former relationship. But the younger sister, Ryou Fujibayashi, was different.
He and Ryou Fujibayashi had already had an ambiguous relationship to begin with, and now they'd even broken through to a physical relationship.
This… this absolutely had to mean formally confirming a relationship, didn't it!
But he'd only confirmed a lovers' relationship with Senpai, Mai Sakurajima, yesterday, and today he was adding another — wasn't that a bit inappropriate?
Lin Ye thought silently to himself.
"Last night, I was a bit rough,"
Compared to the elder sister, Kyou Fujibayashi, he definitely felt more guilt and indebtedness toward the younger sister, Ryou Fujibayashi.
Recalling the 'nasty' attitude Kyou Fujibayashi had once shown him, his rough behavior last night had perhaps been mixed with just a tiny bit of a 'revenge' mentality.
Although the him of last night hadn't had much reason left to begin with.
But if the subject was his sister Ryou, then it was completely different.
He shouldn't have treated Ryou the way he had yesterday.
Moreover, under the effect of the Devour superpower, the degree of sensory stimulation was even higher; Ryou's experiential stimulation was probably only greater, not less.
Her first experience, being like this — wouldn't there be even more trauma!
"It's fine, I understand,"
She again gently shook her head, her bright eyes slowly lifting to meet Lin Ye's. "It was of my own will. At the time Lin-kun was also acting because of the drug my sister gave you, not out of control. This… as the younger sister, I also need to bear my sister's share of that responsibility."
"Lin-kun doesn't need to harbor any feelings of guilt over last night's actions."
What a wonderful girl!
Compared to Kyou Fujibayashi, she was so, so much better.
The gentle girl, however, only stirred up further guilt in Lin Ye.
He hugged her a little tighter, tenderness and affection flowing in his eyes.
"Lin-kun…"
"Mm."
"If you, you… if you still want to… I… I'm okay with it,"
As though she'd thought of something, Ryou Fujibayashi spoke up, looking somewhat timid yet mustering her courage.
Unlike Lin Ye, last night's experience was deeply etched in her memory.
From the pain at the very beginning, to the frenzy that followed, to the point that even now she still retained a considerable psychological trauma.
If it were up to her to choose, she really didn't want to experience it again — but if it was Lin Ye, if it was for Lin Ye's sake, she was willing to endure and bear it.
To give of herself for the one she loved, to satisfy the needs of the one she liked — this was a proper thing to do.
Lin Ye's whole body went stiff, his heart aching all the more.
This gentle girl had no regard for herself at all; she only thought of looking after his feelings and needs.
If he had a girl like this as his girlfriend, he'd already be very satisfied.
Had it been in his past life, this would absolutely have been a girl he could never pursue in his entire life. Even in this life, a girl like Ryou Fujibayashi was something you could happen upon but not seek out.
"Ryou, there's no need. You don't have to wrong yourself for my sake,"
"It's not wronging myself, it's — it's that I really am okay with it,"
Saying this, she even turned and made to climb on top of Lin Ye, but Lin Ye stopped her.
"Ryou, really, there's no need."
Seeing Lin Ye's attitude so resolute, Ryou Fujibayashi accepted it too. She continued lying atop Lin Ye, savoring this warmth that perhaps would only ever exist in this one moment of her whole life.
"Lin-kun, tell me about you and my sister!"
"..."
She really was going to ask this question after all.
"Don't hide it from me, okay? My sister was even going to warm your bed and sleep with you — I really don't believe your relationship is that simple."
Ryou Fujibayashi's words carried just a tiny bit of resentment.
Anyone who encountered a situation where their own blood sister was going to warm the bed and sleep with the man they liked would be unable to accept it.
The fact that Ryou Fujibayashi hadn't erupted in furious interrogation already revealed her disposition and temperament.
This girl's character was meek and gentle; even when angry she would only endure. If things reached the point where even she erupted, then the matter encountered would be quite serious.
But as for Ryou Fujibayashi's current emotions, the stimulation Kyou Fujibayashi had brought her last night had not yet reached the point where she would completely erupt in fury — which was enough to show just how good this girl's character was.
Lin Ye gazed at the girl, hesitating over whether he ought to tell her.
"Lin-kun, just treat it as the interest on the compensation for you bullying me last night,"
Interest,
Ryou Fujibayashi had never been a girl who demanded compensation like this, but now she had no choice. Since Lin Ye wouldn't speak, she could only find a way to make Lin Ye open up.
Lin Ye thought it over thrice, but still couldn't win out against the girl's request.
A request like this — he really couldn't refuse it now.
"You have to be mentally prepared,"
"Mm, Lin-kun, you're not about to tell me that you and my sister have actually already…"
"No. Yesterday was the first time, but nothing happened."
After his denial, Lin Ye began a simple account. "At first there was that promise of your sister's, to give herself to her lifesaver. Ryou, you must remember it!
"Mm."
"I never declared that I was the benefactor who saved her and brought her back. I didn't feel there was any need. When your sister said that at the time, it was actually more to provoke me, to make me envious,"
Ryou Fujibayashi nodded as if in agreement.
"But later… a problem came up."
Lin Ye's words suddenly bore down, making Ryou Fujibayashi's pressure surge all at once.
"I encountered your sister in that place,"
At first Ryou Fujibayashi didn't react, until she thought of something and received Lin Ye's confirmation — only then did she determine where her sister had gone.
It was that Strange world where one could lose one's life at any moment.
That time of hers, had it not been for Lin Ye, she too would absolutely never have left alive.
And her sister had also encountered the Strange.
"It was you, Lin-kun, who saved my sister, and out of gratitude to you, that's why there were seven times?"
"More or less,"
Lin Ye said. "It differs slightly from your experience. After your sister Kyou Fujibayashi's experience ended, there was a choice — to accept the invitation and become one of us, or to refuse the invitation and return to her original daily life."
"Oh, what's the difference?"
"Refusing the invitation means losing all memory of everything that happened in the experience. And it's precisely for this reason that I agreed to the method of repayment your sister proposed at the time. I made a pact with her, having her refuse the invitation after it ended,"
Ryou Fujibayashi understood — Lin Ye had actually had no intention whatsoever of doing anything with her sister.
"She agreed to my terms, and she also mentioned that the pact absolutely had to be fulfilled before you and I formally started dating."
Ryou Fujibayashi: ???
Why did it have to be like that.
"I think this was her final consideration! As long as we hadn't formally confirmed a relationship, she could fulfill the pact without too much psychological burden. Once we confirmed our relationship, then she…"
So that was it.
Her sister had actually been harboring such a thought.
She understood, but she couldn't accept it.
"My sister could perfectly well have not fulfilled the pact. If she'd been considering me, she could perfectly well have not fulfilled it,"
A reproachful tone rose up.
Ryou Fujibayashi didn't think her sister Kyou Fujibayashi's way of doing things was very good.
"If I found out, did my sister never once consider my feelings and how I'd feel? I — when I found out, I very nearly came to hate my sister,"
Lin Ye could understand Ryou Fujibayashi's feelings too; this was a behavior akin to betrayal.
Clearly knowing her younger sister liked him, yet still doing something that, once exposed, was bound to make her be hated.
"My sister couldn't even keep it completely secret, yet still thought she was being very discreet, and even wanted to do it at home. Hateful, so hateful, completely failing to take me seriously, not realizing that I'm very sensitive."
Had she not been sensitive,
she probably wouldn't have sensed it ahead of time and seized the opportunity her sister had created this time.
In a certain respect, Ryou Fujibayashi felt she ought to thank her sister too.
Otherwise, she'd probably have already given up, able only to watch helplessly as Lin Ye and Mai Sakurajima got together and enjoyed the happy life of lovers.
And as she was resenting, one sentence from Lin Ye cut off Ryou Fujibayashi's thoughts.
"Your sister Kyou Fujibayashi violated her pact with me and chose to accept the invitation, becoming a player,"
But his next sentence made Ryou Fujibayashi's expression change drastically,
"Holding this identity doesn't mean there's nothing one has to bear. One of those things is that every month she's obligated to participate once,"
In an instant,
Ryou Fujibayashi stared at Lin Ye, dumbstruck.
She'd assumed it was merely a change of identity that wouldn't amount to anything, but now it seemed it was not at all as simple a matter as she'd thought.
Obligated to participate once a month —
didn't this mean her sister had to go through a life-and-death crisis once a month.
And that kind of danger, in Ryou Fujibayashi's view, was a brush with death from which an ordinary person could scarcely come through safely.
"Lin, Lin-kun… you, you have a way, right!"
Lin Ye shook his head. "For now I have no way to free her from it, and it's precisely for that reason that I strongly demanded she refuse back then, and made a pact with her,"
"Then… then…"
Ryou Fujibayashi was on the verge of tears, her eyes welling up, the tears about to spill over. "Lin-kun, you… you can participate together with my sister, right! With you there, Lin-kun, my sister will definitely be safe and sound,"
But thinking that making such a request was a bit excessive, Ryou Fujibayashi immediately added a reminder, "I, I'll compensate you, Lin-kun. Let me… let me do anything,"
Her face reddened, but her eyes were suffused with a nervous expression.
"Ryou, it's not that I don't want to help, it's that I… am powerless to do so."
Ryou Fujibayashi's face went pale in an instant.
She didn't think Lin Ye was declining because he found it dangerous, and even less did she think Lin Ye would stand by and watch someone die. She could only say that Lin Ye had no way around this — the will was there but not the power.
"The mandatory missions are random. The odds of him and her receiving the invitation and going at the same time are extremely small."
Ryou Fujibayashi's heart went ice-cold. Leaning against Lin Ye's scalding chest, she felt not a trace of warmth.
Instead, the cold and the scorching heat locked together, forming an even greater impact that sent her heart plummeting to the very bottom of the abyss.
Tears were already swirling in her eyes.
The terrifying future of being about to lose her sister battered against her spirit.
Ryou Fujibayashi discovered that, compared to her sister's safety, everything else was no problem at all.
Even if her sister really did do something with Lin-kun, she could completely accept it, without any feeling of resistance whatsoever.
As long as her sister could be safe and sound, no matter what wrong her sister did her, she could accept it all.
"Is there, is there really no way?"
Ryou Fujibayashi swayed, her mist-filled eyes pleading with Lin Ye.
"No,"
He sighed softly, his left hand stroking the girl's hair at the same time. "Although there's no once-and-for-all method, I'll teach her the relevant experience and hand over to her a portion of the items, to help her improve her relevant experience and strength level and raise her own probability of survival,"
Lin Ye looked at Ryou Fujibayashi. "These are all I can do for her,"
Knowledge, experience, and items,
items especially.
Even though Ryou Fujibayashi didn't understand them, she knew how precious items were, and that Lin Ye was willing to give precious items to her sister for this — that already showed how much Lin Ye valued her sister's safety.
One had to understand that every single item could increase one's own survival rate; Lin Ye giving her sister a portion of items meant reducing his own safety by that much.
What ordinary person would do such a thing!
"Lin-kun, boo-hoo-hoo… thank you,"
She buried her head straight into Lin Ye's chest, her moved, sobbing sounds rising softly.
Lin Ye stroked the girl's lovely hair, comforting this girl who had realized her sister's danger.
Telling Ryou Fujibayashi about this matter, the girl's psychological burden was bound to be heavy, and she wouldn't be able to process it successfully in the short term — but it could be counted as having an upside, too.
Ryou Fujibayashi's attitude toward her sister had changed; the resistance and revulsion produced by Kyou Fujibayashi's behavior last night had been greatly eased.
It could be said that now Ryou Fujibayashi felt mostly concern and care for her sister Kyou Fujibayashi, cherishing and worry, rather than scolding and dissatisfaction.
Diverting the conflict.
Lin Ye realized this was a textbook case of diverting the conflict, using one matter to mask another, properly easing the original clash and conflict.
"I'll do my best, Ryou. As for whether your sister Kyou can make it to that point, that can only rely on her own strength and wisdom, plus a little bit of luck."
"Mm."
Ryou Fujibayashi nodded. She lifted her head, her chin resting against Lin Ye's chest, then shifted her body, her cheeks flushing as she kept drawing closer.
"This is… my token of thanks."
She pressed toward Lin Ye's lips, planting her own upon them, kissing Lin Ye's lips.
Soft, springy, like jelly.
After a brief hesitation, Lin Ye immediately responded and kissed the girl.
Now, he had no more reservations.
"Lin-kun…"
By his ear came the girl's bashful words. "I'm okay with it,"
But Lin Ye hadn't grown greedy to that extent. The girl's body still needed to be cared for.
He really couldn't one-sidedly disregard the girl's body for his own sake.
"Next time, when you've recovered,"
"Mm,"
Ryou Fujibayashi gave a hum.
She was very happy.
This showed that Lin Ye didn't have the resistant mentality toward her that she'd anticipated.
Her relationship with Lin Ye would not come to a halt today.
Then…
could she go a step further?
Ryou Fujibayashi's heart began to beat rapidly.
She mustn't be timid, mustn't be afraid.
Muster her courage, charge forward.
Even if she failed, at worst it would just be the current state.
So,
Ryou Fujibayashi made her decision.
She was going to launch a charge, even if she fell along the way of that charge.
...
...
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